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Saturday, September 10, 2011

Tunisia Is Leading The Way On Women's Rights In The Middle East

Tunisia is the first country in the region to withdraw
reservations to the UN convention granting equal rights to men and women

ByBrian Whitaker

Protesters from Tunisia's marginalised rural heartlands march in central Tunis during the uprising. Photograph: Zohra Bensemra/Reuter

Last
December, Tunisians rose up against their dictator, triggering a political
earthquake that has sent shockwaves through most of the Middle East and north
Africa. Now, Tunisia is leading the way once again – this time on the vexed
issue of gender equality.

It
has become the first country in the region to withdraw all its specific
reservations regarding Cedaw – the international convention on the elimination
of all forms of discrimination against women.

This
may sound a rather obscure and technical matter but it's actually a very
important step. It reverses a long-standing abuse of human rights treaties –
especially in the Middle East – where repressive regimes sign up to these
treaties for purposes of international respectability but then excuse
themselves from some or all of their obligations.

Saudi
Arabia, for example, operates the world's most blatant and institutionalised
system of discrimination against women – and yet, along with 17 other Arab
states, it is also a party to Cedaw. It attempts to reconcile this position
through reservations saying it does not consider itself bound by any part of
the treaty which conflicts "with the norms of Islamic law".

In
effect, the Saudi government claims the right to ignore any part of Cedaw it
doesn't like. The "norms of Islamic law" is a meaningless phrase
because the Sharia has never been formally codified. There are various methods
of interpreting it and scholars often disagree in their interpretations. The
"norms of Islamic law" thus means whatever the Saudis choose it to
mean.

Saudi
Arabia is probably the most extreme case of using "Islamic law" to
negate the effects of human rights treaties but, among the other Arab
countries, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman,
Syria and the UAE have also lodged Sharia-based reservations to Cedaw.

Although
the ousted Tunisian regime deprived citizens of many political rights, the
country's record on women's rights has been relatively good – at least in
comparison with other parts of the region. It was one of the first countries to
sign up to Cedaw – way back in 1980 – and women accounted for more than 20% of
its members of parliament.

Despite
that, Tunisia had lodged a series of reservations to clauses in Cedaw which
grant equal rights to men and women in family matters, including:

•
Equal rights to pass on nationality to their children.

•
Equal rights and responsibilities in marriage and divorce.

•
Equal rights in the guardianship and adoption of children.

•
Equal personal rights as husband and wife, including the right to choose a
family name, a profession and an occupation.

•
Equal property rights.

Tunisia
had objected to these on the grounds that they conflicted with its nationality
code and its personal status code. The point of international conventions such
as Cedaw, though, is that they take precedence over local laws. Countries that
sign up to them are expected to amend their local laws in order to comply with
international standards, not exempt themselves from selected parts of the
convention.

The
decision by Tunisia's temporary government to withdraw these reservations is
thus seen as a first step towards amending the laws once a new parliament has
been elected.

One
possible hiccup is that the government has retained one general reservation
which says Tunisia will not take any legislative action which conflicts with
Chapter 1 of the constitution. Chapter 1 includes a statement that the
country's religion is Islam – which could lead to some Sharia-based arguments
for keeping the law unchanged – but Human Rights Watch suggests this is
unlikely. Until now, Tunisia has not used Chapter 1 as an excuse for
maintaining laws or practices that violate Cedaw.

So
there is a fair chance that within a few months Tunisia will be making a
serious effort to meet its obligations under Cedaw and again setting an example
for others in the region to follow.

-This commentary was published in The Guardian on 10/09/2011-Brian Whitaker has done a variety of jobs at the Guardian including, most recently, seven years as Middle East editor

About Me

I graduated from the French University in Beirut (St Joseph) specialising in Political and Economic Sciences. I started my working life in 1973 as a reporter and journalist for the pan-Arab magazine “Al-Hawadess” in Lebanon later becoming its Washington, D.C. correspondent. I subsequently moved to London in 1979 joining “Al-Majallah” magazine as its Deputy Managing Editor. In 1984 joined “Assayad” magazine in London initially as its Managing Editor and later as Editor-in-Chief. Following this, in 1990 I joined “Al-Wasat” magazine (part of the Dar-Al-Hayat Group) in London as a Managing Editor. In 2011 I became the Editor-In-Chief of Miraat el-Khaleej (Gulf Mirror). In July 2012 I became the Chairman of The Board of Asswak Al-Arab Publishing Ltd in UK and the Editor In Chief of its first Publication "Asswak Al-Arab" Magazine (Arab Markets Magazine) (www.asswak-alarab.com).

I have already authored five books. The first “The Tears of the Horizon” is a love story. The second “The Winter of Discontent in The Gulf” (1991) focuses on the first Gulf war sparked by Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. His third book is entitled “Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: From Balfour Promise to Bush Declaration: The Complications and the Road to a Lasting Peace” (March 2008). The fourth book is titled “How Iran Plans to Fight America and Dominate the Middle East” (October 2008) And the fifth and the most recent is titled "JIHAD'S NEW HEARTLANDS: Why The West Has Failed To Contain Islamic Fundamentalism" (May 2011).

Furthermore, I wrote the memoirs of national security advisor to US President Ronald Reagan, Mr Robert McFarlane, serializing them in “Al-Wasat” magazine over 14 episodes in 1992.

Over the years, I have interviewed and met several world leaders such as American President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Margaret Thacher, Late King Hassan II of Morocco, Late King Hussein of Jordan,Tunisian President Zein El-Abedine Bin Ali, Lybian Leader Moammar Al-Quadhafi,President Amine Gemayel of Lebanon,late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, Late Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat, Haitian President Jean Claude Duvalier, Late United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan,Algerian President Shazli Bin Jdid, Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Siyagha and more...